2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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Coordinate system notes: All positions specified are in meters (which
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is weird, since all other units in the file are English). The X axis
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points forward, Y is left, and Z is up. Take your right hand, and
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hold it like a gun. Your first and second fingers are the X and Y
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axes, and your upwards-pointing thumb is the Z. This is slightly
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different from the coordinate system used by JSBSim. Sorry. The
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origin can be placed anywhere, so long as you are consistent. I use
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the nose of the aircraft.
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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XML Elements
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------------
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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airplane: The top-level element for the file. It contains only one
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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attribute:
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mass: The empty (no fuel) weight, in pounds.
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approach: The approach parameters for the aircraft. The solver will
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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generate an aircraft that matches these settings. The element
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can (and should) contain <control> elements indicating pilot
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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input settings, such as flaps and throttle, for the
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approach.
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speed: The approach airspeed, in knots TAS.
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aoa: The approach angle of attack, in degrees
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2004-02-18 15:39:36 +00:00
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fuel: Fraction (0-1) of fuel in the tanks. Default is 0.2.
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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cruise: The cruise speed and altitude for the solver to match. As
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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above, this should contain <control> elements indicating
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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aircraft configuration. Especially, make sure the engines
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are generating enough thrust at cruise!
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speed: The cruise speed, in knots TAS.
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alt: The cruise altitude, in feet MSL.
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2004-02-18 15:39:36 +00:00
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fuel: Fraction (0-1) of fuel in the tanks. Default is 0.2.
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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cockpit: The location of the cockpit (pilot eyepoint).
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x,y,z: eyepoint location (see coordinates note)
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fuselage: This defines a tubelike structure. It will be given an even
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mass and aerodynamic force distribution by the solver. You
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can have as many as you like, in any orientation you please.
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ax,ay,az: One end of the tube (typically the front)
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bx,by,bz: The other ("back") end.
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width: The width of the tube, in meters.
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2004-04-30 02:50:38 +00:00
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taper: The approximate radius at the "tips" of the fuselage
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expressed as a fraction (0-1) of the width value.
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midpoint: The location of the widest part of the fuselage,
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expressed as a fraction of the distance between A and B.
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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wing: This defines the main wing of the aircraft. You can have
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only one (but see below about using vstab objects for extra
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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lifting surfaces). The wing should have a <stall> subelement to
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indicate stall behavior, control surface subelements (flap0,
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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flap1, spoiler, slat) to indicate what and where the control
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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surfaces are, and <control> subelements to map user input
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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properties to the control surfaces.
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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x,y,z: The "base" of the wing, specified as the location of
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the mid-chord (not leading edge, trailing edge, or
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aerodynamic center) point at the root of the LEFT
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(!) wing.
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length: The length from the base of the wing to the midchord
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point at the tip. Note that this is not the same
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thing as span.
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chord: The chord of the wing at its base, along the X axis
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(not normal to the leading edge, as it is
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sometimes defined).
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incidence: The incidence angle at the wing root, in degrees.
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Zero is level with the fuselage (as in an
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aerobatic plane), positive means that the leading
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edge is higher than the trailing edge (as in a
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trainer).
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twist: The difference between the incidence angle at the
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wing root and the incidence angle at the wing
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tip. Typically, this is a negative number so
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that the wing tips have a lower angle of attack
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and stall after the wing root (washout).
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taper: The taper fraction, expressed as the tip chord
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divided by the root chord. A taper of one is a
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hershey bar wing, and zero would be a wing ending
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at a point. Defaults to one.
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sweep: The sweep angle of the wing, in degrees. Zero is
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no sweep, positive angles are swept back.
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Defaults to zero.
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dihedral: The dihedral angle of the wing. Positive angles
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are upward dihedral. Defaults to zero.
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idrag: Multiplier for the "induced drag" generated by this
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surface. In general, low aspect wings will
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generate less induced drag per-AoA than high
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aspect (glider) wings. This value isn't
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constrained well by the solution process, and may
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require tuning to get throttle settings correct in
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high AoA (approach) situations.
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2005-03-29 19:05:47 +00:00
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camber: The lift produced by the wing at zero angle of
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attack, expressed as a fraction of the maximum
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lift produced at the stall AoA.
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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hstab: These defines the horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft.
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2006-02-28 23:22:09 +00:00
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Internally, it is just a wing object and therefore works the
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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same in XML. You are allowed only one hstab object; the
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solver needs to know which wing's incidence to play with to
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get the aircraft trimmed correctly.
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vstab: A "vertical" stabilizer. Like hstab, this is just another
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wing, with a few special properties. The surface is not
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"mirrored" as are wing and hstab objects. If you define a
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left wing only, you'll only get a left wing. The default
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dihedral, if unspecified, is 90 degrees instead of zero.
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But all parameters are equally settable, so there's no
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requirement that this object be "vertical" at all. You can
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use it for anything you like, such as extra wings for
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biplanes. Most importantly, these surfaces are not involved
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with the solver computation, so you can have none, or as
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many as you like.
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2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
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mstab: A mirrored horizontal stabilizer. Exactly the same as wing, but
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not involved with the solver computation, so you can have none,
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or as many as you like.
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stall: A subelement of a wing (or hstab/vstab/mstab) that specifies the
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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stall behavior.
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aoa: The stall angle (maximum lift) in degrees. Note that
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this is relative to the wing, not the fuselage (since
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the wing may have a non-zero incidence angle).
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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width: The "width" of the stall, in degrees. A high value
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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indicates a gentle stall. Low values are viscious
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for a non-twisted wing, but are acceptable for a
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twisted one (since the whole wing will not stall at
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the same time).
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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peak: The height of the lift peak, relative to the
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post-stall secondary lift peak at 45 degrees.
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Defaults to 1.5. This one is deep voodoo, and
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probably doesn't need to change much. Bug me for an
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explanation if you're curious.
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flap0, flap1, slat, spoiler:
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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These are subelements of wing/hstab/vstab objects, and specify
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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the location and effectiveness of the control surfaces.
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start: The positition along the wing where the control
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surface begins. Zero is the root, one is the tip.
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end: The position where the surface ends, as above.
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lift: The lift multiplier for a flap or slat at full
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extension. One is a no-op, a typical aileron might
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be 1.2 or so, a giant jetliner flap 2.0, and a
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spoiler 0.0. For spoilers, the interpretation is a
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little different -- they spoil only "prestall" lift.
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Lift due purely to "flat plate" effects isn't
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affected. For typical wings that stall at low AoA's
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essentially all lift is pre-stall and you don't have
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to care. Jet fighters tend not to have wing
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spoilers, for exactly this reason. This value is
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not applicable to slats, which affect stall AoA
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only.
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drag: The drag multiplier, as above. Typically should be
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higher than the lift multiplier for flaps.
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aoa: Applicable only to slats. This indicates the
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angle by which the stall AoA is translated by the
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slat extension.
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2003-03-09 12:21:52 +00:00
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jet: A turbojet/fan engine. It accepts a <control> subelement to map a
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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property to its throttle setting, and an <actionpt> subelement
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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to place the action point of the thrust at a different
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position than the mass of the engine.
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2003-03-09 12:21:52 +00:00
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x,y,z: The location of the engine, as a point mass.
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If no actionpt is specified, this will also
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be the point of application of thrust.
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mass: The mass of the engine, in pounds.
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thrust: The maximum sea-level thrust, in pounds.
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2006-01-10 17:17:05 +00:00
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afterburner: Maximum total thrust with afterburner/reheat,
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in pounds [defaults to "no additional
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thrust"].
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2003-03-09 12:21:52 +00:00
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rotate: Vector angle of the thrust in degrees about the
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Y axis [0].
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n1-idle: Idling rotor speed [55].
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n1-max: Maximum rotor speed [102].
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n2-idle: Idling compressor speed [73].
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n2-max: Maximum compressor speed [103].
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tsfc: Thrust-specific fuel consumption [0.8].
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This should be considerably lower for modern
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turbofans.
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egt: Exhaust gas temperature at takeoff [1050].
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epr: Engine pressure ratio at takeoff [3.0].
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exhaust-speed: The maximum exhaust speed in knots [~1555].
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2005-10-21 19:32:16 +00:00
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spool-time: Time, in seconds, for the engine to respond to
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90% of a commanded power setting.
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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2004-05-01 00:30:19 +00:00
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propeller: A propeller. This element requires an engine subtag.
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Currently <piston-engine> and <turbine-engine> are
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supported.
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x,y,z: The position of the mass (!) of the
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engine/propeller combination. If the point
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of force application is different (and it
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will be) it should be set with an <actionpt>
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subelement.
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mass: The mass of the engine/propeller, in pounds.
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2005-02-08 20:24:52 +00:00
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moment: The moment, in kg-meters^2. This has to be
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2004-05-01 00:30:19 +00:00
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hand calculated and guessed at for now. A
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more automated system will be forthcoming.
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Use a negative moment value for
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counter-rotating ("European" -- CCW as seen
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from behind the prop) propellers.
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2005-02-08 02:37:37 +00:00
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A good guess for this value is the radius of
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2005-02-08 20:24:52 +00:00
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the prop (in meters) squared times the mass
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(kg) divided by three; that is the moment of
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a plain "stick" bolted to the prop shaft.
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2004-05-01 00:30:19 +00:00
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radius: The radius, in meters, or the propeller.
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cruise-speed: The max efficiency cruise speed of the
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propeller. Generally not the same as the
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aircraft's cruise speed.
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cruise-rpm: The RPM of the propeller at max-eff. cruise.
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cruise-power: The power sunk by the prop at cruise, in horsepower.
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cruise-alt: The reference cruise altitude in feet.
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takeoff-power: The takeoff power required by the propeller...
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takeoff-rpm: ...at the given takeoff RPM.
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min-rpm: The minimum operational RPM for a constant speed
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propeller. This is the speed to which the
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prop governor will seek when the blue lever
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2006-02-26 16:50:30 +00:00
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is at minimum. The coarse-stop attribute
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limits how far the governor can go into trying
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to reach this RPM.
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2004-05-01 00:30:19 +00:00
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max-rpm: The maximum operational RPM for a constant speed
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2006-02-26 16:50:30 +00:00
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propeller. See above. The fine-stop attribute
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limits how far the governor can go in trying
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to reach this RPM.
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fine-stop: The minimum pitch of the propeller (high RPM) as a
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ratio of ideal cruise pitch. This is set to 0.25
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by default -- a higher value will result in a
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lower RPM at low power settings (e.g. idle, taxi,
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and approach).
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coarse-stop: The maximum pitch of the propeller (low RPM) as
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a ratio of ideal cruise pitch. This is set to
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4.0 by default -- a lower value may result in a
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higher RPM at high power settings.
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2004-05-01 00:30:19 +00:00
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gear-ratio: The factor by which the engine RPM is multiplied
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to produce the propeller RPM. Optional (defaults
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to 1.0).
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2004-12-13 23:49:03 +00:00
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contra: When set (contra="1"), this indicates that the
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propeller is a contra-rotating pair. It
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will not contribute to the aircraft's net
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gyroscopic moment, nor will it produce
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asymmetric torque on the aircraft body.
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Asymmetric slipstream effects, when
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implemented, will also be zero when this is
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set.
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2004-01-24 23:13:39 +00:00
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2004-05-01 00:30:19 +00:00
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piston-engine: A piston engine definition. This must be a subelement
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of an enclosing <propeller> tag.
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eng-power: Maximum BHP of the engine at sea level.
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eng-rpm: The engine RPM at which eng-power is developed
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displacement: The engine displacement in cubic inches.
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compression: The engine compression ratio.
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turbo-mul: The turbo/super-charger pressure multiplier.
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Static pressure will be multiplied by this
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value to get the manifold pressure.
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wastegate-mp: The maximum manifold pressure. Beyond
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this, the gate will release to keep the
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2006-03-01 18:36:32 +00:00
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MP below this number. (inHG). This value
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can be changed at runtime using the
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WASTEGATE control axis, which is a
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multiplier in the range [0:1].
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turbo-lag: Time lag, in seconds, for 90% of a power change
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to be reflected in the turbocharger boost
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pressure.
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2004-05-01 00:30:19 +00:00
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turbine-engine: A turbine engine definition. This must be a subelement
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of an enclosing <propeller> tag.
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eng-power: Maximum BHP of the engine at a suitable
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cruise altitude.
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eng-rpm: The engine RPM at which eng-power is
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developed. Note that this is "shaft" RPM
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as seen by the propeller. Don't use a
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gear-ratio on the enclosing propeller, or
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else you'll get confused. :)
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alt: The altitude at which eng-power is developed.
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This should be high enough to be lower (!)
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than the flat-rating power.
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flat-rating: The maximum allowed power developed by
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the engine. Most turboprops are flat
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rated below a certain altitude and
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temperature range to prevent engine
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damage.
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min-n2: N2 (percent) turbine speed at zero throttle.
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max-n2: N2 (percent) turbine speed at max throttle.
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bsfc: Specific fuel consumption, in lbs/hr per
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horsepower.
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|
2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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actionpt: Defines an "action point" for an enclosing jet or propeller
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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element. This is the location where the force from the thruster
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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will be applied.
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x,y,z: The location of force application.
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2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
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gear: Defines a landing gear. Accepts <control> subelements to map
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2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
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properties to steering and braking.
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x,y,z: The location of the fully-extended gear tip.
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2006-03-04 16:42:50 +00:00
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compression: The distance in meters along the "up" axis that
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the gear will compress.
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2005-10-14 21:24:16 +00:00
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upx/upy/upz: The direction of compression, defaults to
|
|
|
|
vertical (0,0,1) if unspecified. These are
|
|
|
|
used only for a direction -- the vector need
|
|
|
|
not be normalized, as the length is specified
|
|
|
|
by "compression".
|
2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
|
|
|
sfric: Static (non-skidding) coefficient of
|
|
|
|
friction. Defaults to 0.8.
|
|
|
|
dfric: Dynamic friction. Defaults to 0.7.
|
2002-11-09 21:09:33 +00:00
|
|
|
spring: A dimensionless multiplier for the automatically
|
|
|
|
generated spring constant. Increase to make
|
|
|
|
the gear stiffer, decrease to make it
|
|
|
|
squishier.
|
|
|
|
damp: A dimensionless multipler for the automatically
|
|
|
|
generated damping coefficient. Decrease to
|
|
|
|
make the gear "bouncier", increase to make it
|
|
|
|
"slower". Beware of increasing this too far:
|
2006-03-04 16:42:50 +00:00
|
|
|
very high damping forces can make the numerics
|
|
|
|
unstable. If you can't make the gear stop
|
|
|
|
bouncing with this number, try increasing the
|
|
|
|
compression length instead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
launchbar: Defines a catapult launchbar or strop.
|
|
|
|
x,y,z: The location of the mount point of the launch bar or
|
|
|
|
strop on the aircraft.
|
|
|
|
length: The length of the launch bar from mount point to tip
|
|
|
|
down-angle: The max angle below the horizontal the
|
|
|
|
launchbar can achieve.
|
|
|
|
up-angle: The max angle above the horizontal the launchbar
|
|
|
|
can achieve.
|
|
|
|
holdback-{x,y,z}: The location of the holdback mount point
|
|
|
|
on the aircraft.
|
|
|
|
holdback-length: The length of the holdback from mount
|
|
|
|
point to tip. Note: holdback up-angle and
|
|
|
|
down-angle are the same as those defined
|
|
|
|
for the launchbar and are not specified in
|
|
|
|
the configuration.
|
2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
tank: A fuel tank. Tanks in the aircraft are identified
|
|
|
|
numerically (starting from zero), in the order they are
|
|
|
|
defined in the file. If the left tank is first, "tank[0]"
|
|
|
|
will be the left tank.
|
|
|
|
x,y,z: The location of the tank.
|
|
|
|
capacity: The maximum contents of the tank, in pounds. Not
|
|
|
|
gallons -- YASim supports fuels of varying
|
|
|
|
densities.
|
|
|
|
jet: A boolean. If present, this causes the fuel
|
|
|
|
density to be treated as Jet-A. Otherwise,
|
|
|
|
gasoline density is used. A more elaborate
|
|
|
|
density setting (in pounds per gallon, for
|
|
|
|
example) would be easy to implement. Bug me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ballast: This is a mechanism for modifying the mass distribution of
|
|
|
|
the aircraft. A ballast setting specifies that a particular
|
|
|
|
amount of the empty weight of the aircraft must be placed at
|
|
|
|
a given location. The remaining non-ballast weight will be
|
|
|
|
distributed "intelligently" across the fuselage and wing
|
|
|
|
objects. Note again: this does NOT change the empty weight
|
|
|
|
of the aircraft.
|
|
|
|
x,y,z: The location of the ballast.
|
|
|
|
mass: How much mass, in pounds, to put there. Note that
|
|
|
|
this value can be negative. I find that I often need
|
|
|
|
to "lighten" the tail of the aircraft.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
weight: This is an added weight, something not part of the empty
|
|
|
|
weight of the aircraft, like passengers, cargo, or external
|
|
|
|
stores. The actual value of the mass is not specified here,
|
|
|
|
instead, a mapping to a propery is used. This allows
|
|
|
|
external code, such as the panel, to control the weight
|
|
|
|
(loading a given cargo configuration from preference files,
|
|
|
|
dropping bombs at runtime, etc...)
|
|
|
|
x,y,z: The location of the weight.
|
|
|
|
mass-prop: The name of the fgfs property containing the
|
|
|
|
mass, in pounds, of this weight.
|
|
|
|
size: The aerodynamic "size", in meters, of the
|
|
|
|
object. This is important for external stores,
|
|
|
|
which will cause drag. For reasonably
|
|
|
|
aerodynamic stuff like bombs, the size should be
|
|
|
|
roughly the width of the object. For other
|
|
|
|
stuff, you're on your own. The default is zero,
|
|
|
|
which results in no aerodynamic force (internal
|
|
|
|
cargo).
|
|
|
|
|
2004-02-18 15:39:36 +00:00
|
|
|
solve-weight:
|
|
|
|
Subtag of approach and cruise parameters. Used to specify a
|
|
|
|
non-zero setting for a <weight> tag during solution. The
|
|
|
|
default is to assume all weights are zero at the given
|
|
|
|
performance numbers.
|
|
|
|
idx: Index of the weight in the file (starting with zero).
|
|
|
|
weight: Weight setting in pounds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
|
|
|
control: This element, which can appear in two different contexts,
|
2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
|
|
|
manages a mapping from fgfs properties (user input) to
|
|
|
|
settable values on the aircraft's objects. Note that the
|
|
|
|
value to be set MUST (!) be valid on the given object type.
|
|
|
|
This is not checked for by the parser, and will cause a
|
|
|
|
runtime crash if you try it. Wing's don't have throttle
|
|
|
|
controls, etc... Note that multiple axes may be set on the
|
|
|
|
same value. They are summed before setting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One serious shortcoming of the current implementation is
|
|
|
|
that there is no provision for modifying the values read
|
|
|
|
from properties. There needs to be a way to scale,
|
|
|
|
translate and truncate the values. On its way, I promise.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
axis: The name of the double-valued fgfs property "axis" to
|
2003-04-01 14:04:55 +00:00
|
|
|
use as input, such as "/controls/flight/aileron".
|
2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
|
|
|
output: Which property to set on the objects. It can have
|
|
|
|
the following values:
|
|
|
|
THROTTLE - The throttle on a jet or propeller.
|
|
|
|
MIXTURE - The mixture on a propeller.
|
|
|
|
REHEAT - The afterburner on a jet (unimpl.).
|
|
|
|
PROP - The propeller advance (unimpl.)
|
|
|
|
BRAKE - The brake on a gear.
|
|
|
|
STEER - The steering angle on a gear.
|
|
|
|
INCIDENCE - The incidence angle of a wing.
|
|
|
|
FLAP0 - The flap0 deflection of a wing.
|
|
|
|
FLAP1 - The flap1 deflection of a wing.
|
|
|
|
SLAT - The slat extension of a wing.
|
|
|
|
SPOILER - The spoiler extension for a wing.
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
CYCLICAIL - The "aileron" cyclic input of a rotor
|
|
|
|
CYCLICELE - The "elevator" cyclic input of a rotor
|
|
|
|
COLLECTIVE - The collective input of a rotor
|
|
|
|
ROTORENGINEON - If not equal zero the rotor is rotating
|
2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
|
|
|
invert: Negate the value of the property before setting on
|
|
|
|
the object.
|
|
|
|
split: Applicable to wing control surfaces. Sets the
|
|
|
|
normal value on the left wing, and a negated value
|
|
|
|
on the right wing.
|
|
|
|
square: Squares the value before setting. Useful for
|
|
|
|
controls like steering that need a wide range, yet
|
|
|
|
lots of sensitiviy in the center. Obviously only
|
|
|
|
applicable to values that have a range of [-1:1] or
|
|
|
|
[0:1].
|
|
|
|
|
2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
|
|
|
A control element can also appear inside of an <approach> or
|
|
|
|
<cruise> element. Here, it specifies a particular value of an
|
2001-12-11 15:09:38 +00:00
|
|
|
axis mapping that should be true under the given
|
|
|
|
conditions. At cruise, the throttle is generally at a high
|
|
|
|
setting, the flaps and slats are up During approach
|
|
|
|
the flaps and slats are down, etc...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
axis: As above, the name of the input property.
|
|
|
|
value: A floating point number that the property is expected
|
2003-02-18 20:11:52 +00:00
|
|
|
to hold.
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
rotor: A rotor. Used for simulating helicopters. You can have one, two
|
|
|
|
or even more.
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
There is a drawing of a rotor in the Doc-directory
|
|
|
|
(README.yasim.rotor.gif) Please find the measures from this drawing
|
|
|
|
for several parameters in square brackets [].
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
If you specify a rotor, you do not need to specify a wing or hstab,
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
the settings for approach and cruise will be ignored then. You have
|
|
|
|
to specify the solver results manually. See below.
|
|
|
|
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
name: The name of the rotor.
|
|
|
|
(some data is stored at /rotors/name/)
|
|
|
|
The rpm, cone angle, yaw angle and roll angle are stored
|
|
|
|
for the complete rotor. For every blade the position
|
|
|
|
angle, the flap angle and the incidence angle are stored.
|
|
|
|
All angles are in degree, positive values always mean "up".
|
|
|
|
This is not completely tested, but seem to work at least
|
|
|
|
for rotors rotating counterclockwise.
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
A value stall gives the fraction of the rotor in stall
|
|
|
|
(weighted by the fraction the have on lift and drag
|
|
|
|
without stall). Use this for modifying the rotor-sound.
|
|
|
|
The torque property has a bug.
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
x,y,z: The position of the rotor center
|
|
|
|
nx,ny,nz: The normal of the rotor (pointing upwards, will be
|
|
|
|
normalized by the computer)
|
|
|
|
fx,fy,fz: A Vector pointing forward, if not perpendicular to the
|
|
|
|
normal it will be corrected by the computer
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
diameter: The diameter in meter [D]
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
numblades: The number of blades
|
|
|
|
weightperblade: The weight per blade in pounds
|
|
|
|
relbladecenter: The relative center of gravity of the blade. Maybe
|
|
|
|
not 100% correct interpreted; use 0.5 for the start and
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
change in small steps [b/R]
|
|
|
|
chord: The chord of the blade its base, along the X axis
|
|
|
|
(not normal to the leading edge, as it is
|
|
|
|
sometimes defined). [c]
|
|
|
|
twist: The difference between the incidence angle at the
|
|
|
|
blade root and the incidence angle at the wing
|
|
|
|
tip. Typically, this is a negative number so
|
|
|
|
that the rotor tips have a lower angle of attack.
|
|
|
|
taper: The taper fraction, expressed as the tip chord
|
|
|
|
divided by the root chord. A taper of one is a
|
|
|
|
bar blade, and zero would be a blade ending
|
|
|
|
at a point. Defaults to one. [d/c]
|
|
|
|
rel_len_where_incidence_is_measured: If the blade is twisted,
|
|
|
|
you need a point where to measure the incidence angle.
|
|
|
|
Zero means at the base, 1 means at the tip. Typically
|
|
|
|
it should be something near 0.7
|
|
|
|
rel_len_blade_start: Typically the blade is not mounted in the
|
|
|
|
center of the rotor [a/R]
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
rpm: rounds per minute.
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
ccw: determines if the rotor rotates clockwise (="0") or
|
|
|
|
counterclockwise (="1"), (if you look on the top of the
|
|
|
|
normal, so the bo105 has counterclockwise rotor).
|
|
|
|
"true" and "false" are not any longer supported to
|
|
|
|
increase my lifespan. ;-)
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
maxcollective: The maximum of the collective incidence in degree
|
|
|
|
mincollective: The minimum of the collective incidence in degree
|
|
|
|
maxcyclicele: The maximum of the cyclic incidence in degree for
|
|
|
|
the elevator like function
|
|
|
|
mincyclicele: The minimum of the cyclic incidence in degree for
|
|
|
|
the elevator like function
|
|
|
|
maxcyclicail: The maximum of the cyclic incidence in degree for
|
|
|
|
the aileron like function
|
|
|
|
mincyclicail: The minimum of the cyclic incidence in degree for
|
|
|
|
the aileron like function
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
airfoil_incidence_no_lift: non symmetric airfoils produces lift
|
|
|
|
with no incidence. This is is the incidence, where the
|
|
|
|
airfoil is producing no lift. Zero for symmetrical airfoils
|
|
|
|
(default)
|
|
|
|
incidence_stall_zero_speed:
|
|
|
|
incidence_stall_half_sonic_speed: the stall incidence is a function
|
|
|
|
of the speed. I found some measured data, where this is
|
|
|
|
linear over a wide range of speed. Of course the linear
|
|
|
|
region ends at higher speeds than zero, but just
|
|
|
|
extrapolate the linear behavior to zero.
|
|
|
|
lift_factor_stall: In stall airfoils produce less lift. Without
|
|
|
|
stall the c_lift of the profile is assumed to be
|
|
|
|
sin(incidence-airfoil_incidence_no_lift)*liftcoef;
|
|
|
|
And in stall:
|
|
|
|
sin(2*(incidence-airfoil_incidence_no_lift))*liftcoef*...
|
|
|
|
...lift_factor_stall;
|
|
|
|
Therefore this factor is not the quotient between lift
|
|
|
|
with and without stall. Use 0.28 if you have no idea.
|
|
|
|
drag_factor_stall: The drag of an airfoil in stall is larger than
|
|
|
|
without stall.
|
|
|
|
Without stall c_drag is assumed to be
|
|
|
|
abs(sin(incidence-airfoil_incidence_no_lift))*dragcoef1...
|
|
|
|
..+dragcoef0);
|
|
|
|
With stall this is multiplied by drag_factor
|
|
|
|
stall_change_over: For incidence<incidence_stall there is no stall.
|
|
|
|
For incidence>(incidence_stall+stall_change_over) there is
|
|
|
|
stall. In the range between this incidences it is
|
|
|
|
interpolated linear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The airfoil of the rotor can be described in two ways. First you
|
|
|
|
can define the needed power for different pitch values and the
|
|
|
|
total lift force at a user-defined pitch value. Don't use pitch
|
|
|
|
values greater than the stall incidence. You could get strange
|
|
|
|
results.
|
|
|
|
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
pitch_a: A collective incidence angle, used for the next token
|
|
|
|
forceatpitch_a: The force, the rotor is producing when the incident
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
angle is equal pitch_a. Without ground effect and with
|
|
|
|
maximum translational lift. I.e. hover-pitch and a force
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
equivalent to the weight. (in pounds of force)
|
|
|
|
pitch_b: A collective incidence angle, used for the next token
|
|
|
|
poweratpitch_b: the power the rotor needs at pitch_b. (i.e. at the
|
|
|
|
bo105 the main rotor consumes bout 90% of the engine power,
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
and 9% the tail rotor. In kW.
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
poweratpitch_0: the power the rotor needs at zero pitch.
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
In kW. Used for calculation of the airfoil coefficients.
|
|
|
|
In near future you can define them directly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The second way is to define the lift and drag coefficients directly.
|
|
|
|
Without stall the c_lift of the profile is assumed to be
|
|
|
|
sin(incidence-airfoil_incidence_no_lift)*liftcoef;
|
|
|
|
And in stall:
|
|
|
|
sin(2*(incidence-airfoil_incidence_no_lift))*liftcoef*...
|
|
|
|
...lift_factor_stall;
|
|
|
|
Without stall c_drag is assumed to be
|
|
|
|
abs(sin(incidence-airfoil_incidence_no_lift))*dragcoef1...
|
|
|
|
..+dragcoef0);
|
|
|
|
See above, how the coefficients are defined with stall.
|
|
|
|
The parameters:
|
|
|
|
airfoil_lift_coefficient: liftcoef
|
|
|
|
airfoil_drag_coefficient0: dragcoef0
|
|
|
|
airfoil_drag_coefficient1: dragcoef1
|
|
|
|
I read in a forum, that, if you calculate the lift of an heli rotor,
|
|
|
|
you will get a value larger than the measured one. This seems to be
|
|
|
|
valid for this simulation. If you use values for the lift
|
|
|
|
coefficient from real airfoils you will get unrealistic high lift as
|
|
|
|
result (approx. a factor of 2). As starting parameters you can use
|
|
|
|
airfoil_lift_coefficient="1.9"
|
|
|
|
airfoil_drag_coefficient0="0.0075"
|
|
|
|
airfoil_drag_coefficient1="0.2"
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
flapmin: Minimum flapping angle. (Should normally never reached)
|
|
|
|
flapmax: Maximum flapping angle. (Should normally never reached)
|
|
|
|
flap0: Flapping angle at no rotation, i.e. -5
|
|
|
|
dynamic: this changes the reactions peed of the rotor to an input.
|
|
|
|
normally 1 (Maybe there are rotors with a little faster
|
|
|
|
reaction, than use a value a little greater than one.
|
|
|
|
A value greater than one will result in a more inert,
|
|
|
|
system. Maybe it's useful for simulating the rotor of the
|
|
|
|
Bell UH1
|
|
|
|
rellenflaphinge: The relative length from the center of the rotor
|
|
|
|
to the flapping hinge. Can be taken from pictures of the
|
|
|
|
helicopter (i.e. 0 for Bell206, about 0.05 for most
|
|
|
|
rotors) For rotors without flapping hinge (where the blade
|
|
|
|
are twisted instead, i.e. Bo 105, Lynx) use a mean value,
|
|
|
|
maybe 0.2. This value has a extreme result in the behavior
|
2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
|
|
|
of the rotor [F/r]
|
2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
|
|
|
delta3: Some rotors have a delta3 effect, which results in a
|
|
|
|
decreasing of the incidence when the rotor is flapping.
|
|
|
|
A value of 0 (as most helicopters have) means no change in
|
|
|
|
incidence, a value of 1 result in a decreases of one degree
|
|
|
|
per one degree flapping.
|
|
|
|
So delta3 is the proportional factor between flapping and
|
|
|
|
decrease of incidence. I.e. the tail rotor of a Bo105 has
|
|
|
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a delta3 of 1.
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delta: A factor for the damping constant for the flapping. 1 means
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a analytical result, which is only a approximation. Has a
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very strong result in the reaction of the rotor system on
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control inputs.
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If you know the flapping angle for a given cyclic input you
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can adjust this by changing this value. Or if you now the
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maximum roll rate or ...
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2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
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translift_maxfactor: Helicopters have "translational lift", which
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is due to turbulence. In forward flying the rotor gets less
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turbulence air and produces more lift. The factor is the
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quotient between lift at high airspeeds to the lift at
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hover (with same pitch).
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translift_ve: the speed, where the translational lift reaches 1/e of
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the maximum value. In m/s.
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ground_effect_constant: Near to the ground the rotor produces more
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torque than in higher altitudes. The ground effect is
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calculated as
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factor = 1+diameter/altitude*_ground_effect_constant
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number_of_segments: The rotor is simulated in four different
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directions (probably this will be extended in future).
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In every direction the rotor is simulated at
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number_of_segments points. If the value is to small, the
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rotor will react unrealistic. If it is to high, cpu-power
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will be wasted. I now use a value of 10, but probably a
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smaller value for the tail-rotor would be sufficient.
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All rotor can have <control> subelements for the cyclic
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2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
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(CYCLICELE, CYCLICAIL) and collective (COLLECTIVE) input.
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2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
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rotorgear: If you are using one ore more rotors you have to define a
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rotorgear. It connects all the rotors and adds a simple engine.
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In future it will be possible, to add a YASim-engine.
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max_power_engine: the maximum power of the engine, in kW.
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engine_prop_factor: the engine is working as a pd-regulator. This
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is the width of the regulation-band, or, in other words,
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the inverse of the proportional-factor of the regulator.
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If you set it to 0.02, than up to 98% of the rotor-rpm
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the engine will produce maximum torque. At 100% of
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the engine will produce no torque. It is planned to use
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YASim-engines instead of this simple engine.
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engine_accell_limit: The d-factor of the engine is defined as the
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maximum acceleration rate of the engine in %/s,
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default is 5%/s.
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max_power_rotor_brake: the maximum power of the rotor brake, in kW
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at normal rpm (most? real rotor breaks would be overheated
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if used at normal rpm, but this is not simulated now)
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yasimdragfactor:
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yasimliftfactor: the solver is not working with rotor-aircrafts.
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Therefore you have to specify the results yourself.
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10 for drag and 140 for lift seem to be good starting
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values.
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The rotorgear needs a <control> subelement for the engine
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(ROTORGEARENGINEON) and can have a <control> subelement for the
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rotor brake (ROTORBRAKE).
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2003-10-16 16:07:12 +00:00
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The rotor simulation is very "beta" and not finished yet. So don't
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spend too much time to adjust a flight behavior to the smallest
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details now.
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2006-08-14 22:38:59 +00:00
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